Virgil sat in his room, enveloped by the darkness. He could turn on the lights. It wouldn't wake Patton; their rooms were far enough apart. He just preferred the dark. Resting his hands beneath his head, he stared up at the ceiling and couldn't help but think of Roman.

Roman's room had been much more brightly coloured than Virgil's. He'd had posters and drawings and a pride flag. There had been glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and bright red walls. Virgil's room looked dismal in comparison. The walls were a deep purple. The window was covered at the moment, blocking out any light from the street. There were no posters or drawings, just a bookshelf. The only interesting thing in the room was the old fashioned cauldron where Virgil made potions, and that was only appealing when it was glowing from the magic being poured into it.

Everything was dark. And that was how he liked it.

Patton was right. Infatuation at first sight was unlike Virgil. He'd never liked anyone this way before, let alone been in a relationship, but he'd have assumed that he'd want to get to know someone better before going to their house. Hell, he'd been in Roman's room. He'd shifted into a cat in front of him, goddamnit! He never shifted in front of people if he could avoid it, but just sitting there, Roman's gentle touch as he played with his hair. . . he'd shifted right there and then, barely even realizing it.

Had Roman cast some sort of spell on him? It was rare for fey to make potions but not entirely unheard of. Some spells could cause infatuation for a limited time and some potions might cause prolonged lovesickness. That could be it. Patton was right, he barely knew Roman. These feelings could be implanted in his mind by someone else.

Virgil sighed. He was being paranoid again. There was little chance that Roman had cast a spell on him. Sure, it was possible, but it seemed incredibly unlikely. He got to his feet, thinking of distracting himself the only way he knew how. He hadn't bothered changing yet, and even if he had, his gloves would still be on. Waving a hand, Virgil cast a soundproof barrier around the room. He didn't want to risk waking Patton. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he connected it to a wireless speaker and started blasting My Chemical Romance. It was the best, most consistent and most effective way of distracting himself. He walked over to his shelf, already subconsciously moving to the beat of the music, and pulled a new-looking book off. Even though it was in the section he usually reserved for potion recipes, it was a paperback fantasy novel. Something he'd been wanting to read for a while now. Falling back onto his bed, Virgil flipped the book open and tried to focus on a quote on the inside cover.

You were the sun, and I was crashing into you.

Oh hell, why did everything in his life have to be angsty?

Virgil sighed, flipping the page and trying to focus on the book. He made it through a few chapters before he gave up, throwing the book against the wall. He rolled onto his side, hearing the soft thump of his book falling to the floor, and glared at his wall as if it were what was causing all his problems.

"VIRGIL!"

Virgil sat bolt upright, staring wide-eyed at the door. She couldn't be here. There was no way. He was imagining things. Waving his hand, he shut off his music. He held his breath and counted to five in his head, listening for any other sounds. He exhaled slowly and got to his feet, stepping over the book he'd thrown on his way to the door. It creaked open slowly, revealing the dark and empty hallway. He looked around. Everything was as it should be. The only thing out of the ordinary was the light shining under the door of Patton's room. Still shaking slightly, Virgil tiptoed down the hall and knocked on his friend's door.

"Virgil? That you?" Patton called, his voice sounding a little shaky. "Come on in."

Virgil pushed the door open and was greeted by an unpleasantly bright light shining in his eyes. He hissed, recoiling and covering his eyes, and stepped into the room.

"What's up?" Patton asked, getting to his feet. He stood in front of Virgil, looking at him with concern in his eyes.

"It's nothing, I just. . . it's nothing."

"You heard her again?" Patton assumed, gently pulling Virgil's hand away from his eyes. Virgil nodded, staring at his feet rather than meeting Patton's gaze. "Do you want to stay here for a bit?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," Virgil mumbled, smiling as much as he could and flopping down in a purple bean bag chair Patton always left out for him. He hadn't explicitly told Patton too much about his life, but they'd known each other for so long that Patton was able to draw some conclusions himself. Patton picked up his wand from off the table and waved it, drawing a circle in the air. Calming music started playing, filling the air with sweet and comforting sounds.

"Was it anything specific this time?" Patton asked, sitting on the edge of his bed and looking down at Virgil. He shook his head.

"I just heard my name." He scanned the room, searching for a way to change the subject. "Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Patton shrugged, his eyes clouding over. He stared at the floor by Virgil's feet, his expression unreadable. No doubt Patton could tell what Virgil was feeling at the moment. Virgil had often thought that if he could trade his shapeshifting abilities for Patton's empathic ones, he would. He'd never been great at reading other people, so to speak, and wasn't very good at being sensitive toward others.

"Alright," Virgil mumbled, leaning back in the bean bag. "Are you working tomorrow?" Patton simply nodded. He often worked Saturdays, but always made sure to spend his Sundays with Virgil.

"Not looking forward to it," Patton said, looking somewhat dejected.

"I thought you liked your job."

"I do, I'm just not looking forward to working tomorrow, specifically."

"Want to talk about it?" Virgil offered.

Patton sighed, faking what was meant to be a reassuring smile. "Things are just piling up a bit, but it's alright. I don't want to burden you at all. You've already got your own things to deal with."

"That doesn't mean I can't listen."

"I know, but. . . it's okay."

"If you say so," Virgil murmured, not quite convinced. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the soft music, and barely noticed himself falling asleep.